A review in the style of Leviathan (2012) (or impressions arranged to form a review) New York Film Festival 2012

If Hieronymus Bosch made an abstract film on fishing you'd have Leviathan.

If you want to turn people people off to sea food show them Leviathan.

If you want to be cinematically abused watch Leviathan.

What amounts to images from a fishing vessel from a fishing voyage. Told frequently in an up close style that puts you not so much on top of something, or in your face, rather too damn close to your eye that it takes ages to find out what anything is. (It appears they used head mounted cameras that just saw what the fisherman saw-kind of)

There is no dialog, there are just the amped up sound, and at Alice Tully hall it was amped to a deafening level, of  the ship,machines and the ocean. All human voices are pulled into to the background, to the point of meaning nothing. Its more an industrial symphony kept in time by the constant whir of the engine (which is might put you to sleep)

My first thought was what is this?What am I looking at?

My second thought was I understand why they used the images of the birds in the promo material, its simply that they are frequently the only ones that seem to be recognizable.(Well that and the dead and dying fish with the bulging eyes)

Outside of of some stunning fleeting images I hate this film. Its like being abused for 90 minutes. The loud noise for a sound track and the almost abstract images are not a documentary, it's a arty avant garde vanity project. I can't really explain to you what the film is other than lots of POV shots mixed with images from close up cameras or cameras placed in places to create intriguing and annoying images. It means nothing it goes no where. Its just an abstract trip into an industrial hell. (If  it's not a documentary then I'll consider other options- but I still won't like it)

I have no idea what many people thought but I've never seen so much watch checking in a film. I have to report the film also had the only walk outs I saw in all of this years festival. about 20 people left in the balcony around me and I caught sight of a few others in the orchestra. When it was done some people applauded, others booed. Many stayed for the Q&A, I'm guessing in the hopes of having what they just saw explained.

I just watched  the film hoping to have it all come together, other than it showing fishing as hell. It never came together so I have no idea what the point of it all was. Though I have to admit the post credit sequence of the seagulls in the dark helled people mesmerized and stopped them from leaving.

If anyone can eat seafood after watching how these guys process the fish is beyond me. Ididn't need to see them hacking up rays with machetes while they were still alive.

The film has one of the most aggressive surround tracks I've heard with the rear speaker simply pouring out the sound of the boat motor. (I want to know who wanted to play it at rock concert levels?)

To be honest my view of the film keep softening as I remember some of the amazing images, but then I realize they are fleeting and for every image like above there is so many more that are just bad.

One of my least favorite films at the NYFF this year.